Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Production and Targeting of Monovalent Quantum Dots
Published on: October 23, 2014
Quantum dot-antisense oligonucleotide conjugates for multifunctional gene transfection, mRNA regulation, and tracking
Yilin Li1, Xin Duan, Lihong Jing
1Institute of Chemistry, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei Yi Jie 2, Zhong Guan Cun, 100190 Beijing, China.
Abstract:
It was demonstrated that oligonucleotides, independent of their base sequence and length, could effectively induce the cellular uptake of mercapto acid-capped CdTe QDs after the oligonucleotides were covalently attached on the surface of the QDs. Following these experimental observations, a conjugate composed of covalently linked anti-survivin antisense oligonucleotides (ASON) and CdTe QDs was designed and synthesized. Then, the survivin mRNA down-regulation and the apoptosis of HeLa cells induced by ASON were studied. Systematic experimental results revealed that CdTe-ASON could effectively induce the apoptosis of HeLa cells, while CdTe QDs offered the possibility to visualize the specific intracellular localization of the CdTe-ASON probes strongly associated with their biological functions.

